Borough paving project postponed for bicentennial

November 07, 2003|By MIKE O'BRIEN, Daily American Staff Writer

The start of a PennDOT paving project on a portion of Patriot Street in Somerset Borough will be pushed back a year until spring 2005 in deference to the borough's planned bicentennial celebrations in 2004, a PennDOT spokesperson said.

A public meeting about the project was held at the Somerset Historical Center Thursday evening.

The 1/4-mile paving project, which will begin at the intersection of Patriot Street and South Franklin Avenue and extend east to the intersection of Patriot Street and South Edgewood Avenue, was originally scheduled to begin spring 2004, but because of the borough's planned celebrations, project managers decided to delay it for a year, said PennDOT spokesperson Michele Jacoby.

"Because of Somerset Borough's planned bicentennial celebrations, we thought it was appropriate to move the project date," Jacoby said.

Jacoby said that because of the complexity of the project, which will involve a complete demolition and reconstruction of the roadway and the relocation of numerous utility lines below street level, it will take the entire summer to complete.

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But there will be no detours during construction of the project, Jacoby said, instead, traffic will flow through one lane of the roadway at all times.

Jacoby said that widening the roadway will mean that approximately 20 parking spots on the left-hand side of the road will be permanently lost, but stressed that safety was the main issue in expanding the width of the street.

"Right now, when you have cars parked on both sides of the (proposed portion of Patriot) street, there's barely enough room for traffic in both lanes to pass," she said. "So this really is a safety issue."

The proposed plan would allow more traffic to flow on the roadway, increasing the average daily traffic total of 8,900 to an average of 10,405 when completed.

The project will also include the removal of existing trees along the roadway and installation of new sidewalks and new trees once the roadway project is completed.

The cost of the project is projected at $1.5 million, according to Jacoby.